Chapter 98: Chapter 5 My Old Classmate Turns Out to Be a Billionaire
During the wait, Sun Dasheng had a server clear the table of their earlier leftovers. He then had Qian Zhi order several more dishes that his wife liked.
Just as the food was almost ready, their guests arrived. It wasn’t just Qian Zhi’s wife; she had brought another woman along with her.
Both women were in their thirties and fairly attractive. They might not have been great beauties, but they could certainly be considered pretty. However, one of them wore no makeup at all, while the other was heavily made-up. The one with heavy makeup glanced disdainfully at the small, roadside barbecue stand.
"Mei Na, your husband is still so stingy. He can’t even pick a nicer place to eat."
The woman she addressed, Yang Mei Na, gave a faint smile. "Mei Mei, my husband was just laid off. Please be mindful of what you say in front of him."
"Oh, I know, I know. You just love to spoil those men. If you ask me, you should take advantage of your youth and beauty to divorce him and find someone new. That’s the smart move. Isn’t Manager Wang from our hotel still smitten with you?"
Yang Mei Na quickly cut her friend’s nonsense short because her husband was walking over to greet them, accompanied by the old classmate he had mentioned on the phone.
Curious, she looked over. She had never seen this old classmate of her husband’s before; he was a complete stranger to her. But he’s a fine-looking man, tall and handsome—a rare sight among middle-aged men.
"Mei Na, you’re here! And Mei Mei, welcome," Qian Zhi said, quickly making introductions.
"Da Sheng, this is my wife, Yang Mei Na. She’s been married to me for over ten years, gave me a lovely daughter, and now works as a lobby manager at a hotel. She’s virtuous and capable."
Sun Dasheng smiled and said, "A pleasure to meet you."
Then Qian Zhi introduced his old classmate to his wife.
"Mei Na, this is my deskmate from all three years of high school. He’s a great friend. We haven’t seen each other in over a decade. I’m so happy we ran into each other today."
Yang Mei Na also greeted "Brother Sun," and after the introductions were complete, everyone sat down.
"Eat up, everyone! Make yourselves at home," Qian Zhi said, trying to liven things up.
The group was chatting and laughing when an unpleasant voice cut through the air.
"Old Qian, is this really the kind of place you bring an old classmate you haven’t seen in over ten years?" Wang Mei Mei asked with a hint of disdain.
Qian Zhi felt a flush of embarrassment, not expecting his wife’s best friend to be so rude. I remember she wasn’t like this before. She used to call me ’Brother Qian’ this and ’Brother Qian’ that. When did she start calling me ’Old Qian’?
Seeing his old friend’s discomfort, Sun Dasheng came to the rescue. "What’s wrong with this place? Back in high school, we used to come to little stands like this all the time. It has a familiar feel, a familiar taste. I actually quite like it."
"Right, right, right!" Yang Mei Na said, nudging her friend and signaling for her to be quiet.
She felt a headache coming on. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have brought her best friend along. However, they had been out shopping together when her husband called, and it hadn’t occurred to her to step away, so her friend overheard the entire conversation. Her friend then claimed she was starving and wanted to tag along for a free meal, and Yang Mei Na didn’t have the heart to turn her away. It was true, too. They had both been on the night shift recently, so they slept all morning before going out to shop and were now famished.
After her friend’s signal, Wang Mei Mei stopped causing trouble, perhaps because she really was hungry. She started devouring a roasted duck leg, exclaiming how delicious it was!
Without her disruptions, the conversation among the other three began to flow. Before long, the topic turned to work.
"I resigned a while ago and started my own company. Just a small business," Sun Dasheng said modestly.
"Oh? My husband was also recently laid off by his company," Yang Mei Na lamented. "What is wrong with the world these days? We’re only in our mid-thirties. Is it already time for us to ’retire’?"
So that’s what happened, Yang Mei Na thought, her mind suddenly clearing. No wonder I saw him handing out flyers on the street. He must have just been laid off and couldn’t find a good job right away, so he’s handing out flyers to get by.
Yang Mei Na interpreted Sun Dasheng’s words as a sign of shared misfortune, assuming his situation was as difficult as her husband’s.
But Wang Mei Mei, busy gnawing on her duck leg, heard things differently.
With a look of scorn, she said, "Starting a company? Isn’t entrepreneurship practically a death sentence these days? You’ve got a lot of nerve. Aren’t you afraid of losing your entire life’s savings?"
Then, turning to her best friend, Yang Mei Na, she added, "You’d better keep a tight grip on your family’s finances. Don’t let your Old Qian follow his so-called old classmate and sink all your savings into some startup. When you lose everything, don’t say I didn’t warn you." She said all this as if it were simply a matter of course.
"Wang Mei Mei, what is that supposed to mean? If you don’t want to eat, then please leave," Qian Zhi said, his patience finally snapping.
She can criticize me all she wants, but she can’t talk about my old classmate, my good friend. I treat her to a meal, and this is how she repays me, with all these snide remarks?
Wang Mei Mei, who was in the middle of taking a bite of the duck leg, was stunned. It was the first time she had ever seen the good-tempered, easy-going Qian Zhi lose his temper.
Furious, she slammed the duck leg down on the table. "This frozen garbage is worth a few bucks at most. You think I actually enjoy eating this?"
"This whole setup is just low-class."
"Mei Na, let’s go!"
She grabbed her purse and pulled her best friend up, ready to storm out. However, her "frozen garbage" remark provoked a strong reaction from the barbecue stand’s owner.
"Miss, you can eat what you like, but you can’t just run your mouth! All of our meat is bought fresh from the market first thing in the morning. You can’t just slander people without any proof. If you don’t have evidence, you shouldn’t make such accusations. Otherwise, you’ll have to take responsibility for your words."
In the little barbecue stand, all the other customers turned to watch the commotion. The owner knew that if he didn’t clear up the misunderstanding, it would definitely affect his future business. More importantly, it would damage his reputation, as his little shop relied almost entirely on repeat customers.
Seeing the furious owner, Wang Mei Mei showed no fear and said disdainfully: